Fixation Never Fails

Hard words to read on a Tuesday night…. “ …it appears our beloved Neil has left this world.”  A friend from high school… taken abruptly by a vicious disease following a long, tiring battle.  And my heart broke when I read the words.  It felt just like a punch to the gut.  A heavy sigh combined with an aching heart for a family forced to face the reality of a life without their precious one.  And then I remembered the image sent to me a few days earlier.  The one from a momma who knows this heart well…. always story-hunting in the ordinary.  And I’d even joked that it’s a blessing and a curse all wrapped in one… seeing eyes tuned in to the glory of the average and routine.

And on a foggy day in January I see it.  There in the distance…. one light shining bright.  And even in the dreary mist it’s recognizable.  And for a moment I am fixated on it.  As if nothing else in the image matters.  It’s as if the fog barely exists when my eyes are laser focused on the light.  And I see it in the word: fixation.  By definition, in part, it means this, “preoccupation with one subject.”  Ahh yes… eyes drawn naturally to the one thing that brings hope and joy and provision.  And I look at it all so differently now… He only asks that we stay fixated on the light.  To be not distracted by the unlovely and disgraceful surroundings.  To put out of view the unnecessary burden and inconvenience brought about by painfully tragic circumstances that we simply are not in control of.  Ahh… to be fully fixated, instead, on His glory, His goodness, His faithfulness, His never-ending love.  It’s being preoccupied with one subject… One glorious subject that reigns supreme over all.  And I imagine it’s how Neil lived his life.  Preoccupied with one subject… the only One that matters.  And I envision Him standing before the Light today, with the words of His sweet Savior whispering to him gently, “Well done good and faithful servant.  Well done.”  Because of your refusal to stay anything but fixated on the light, you give hope to those left behind.  Don't depart from the light.  Keep your eyes laser-focused on what truly matters.  Preoccupy yourselves with one subject.  Fixation never fails.

Get Up and Eat!

Some days the text is so clear and the message so obvious.

So much so that you wonder how you even missed it before.

Because hadn’t I been studying the life of Elijah and hadn’t we just wrapped up a season of celebrating his victory there atop Mount Carmel? 

Ahh yes… the overwhelming victory following a 3-year drought.

A mighty rainstorm.  One that he would declare hearing long before it was evident to the human eye.

But then something happened.  As the tendency is sometimes.

Defeat.  Anxiety.  Discouragement.

Ahh… victory doesn’t always make you victorious.

And just a few verses over we see Elijah hiding in a cave, ready to quit.  Oh and not just ready to quit, but worse yet… ready to die.

Temporary success in the eyes of this God-fearing man.  And perhaps a sense of pride rearing its ugly head again. 

And I wonder how different we really are from Elijah?

He brings restoration in one season… and in the very next we find ourselves in fear and isolation.
He sees us to victory in one season… and in the very next we’re cowering in defeat as a victim.

And then the words there in 1 Kings 19:5 come not as a calm reminder, but as a roaring charge… “Get up and eat!”

Because we serve a loving God who doesn’t leave us in our mess.

He’d asks Elijah just a while later, “What are you doing here?”
And I love those words because I can feel the love of a Father when I read them.

“What are you doing here?”
You don’t belong here.
I didn’t call you to cower.
You were not meant to live in defeat and discouragement.

I have so much more for you.

But you must do your part.

“Get up and eat!”

You’ve got what it takes.

I’ve already provided.

Victory is Mine, He says, but living victorious is up to you!

Now… get up and eat!

Strengthen yourself!

Remember who you are!

Remember Whose you are!

The choice is yours.

Stop wallowing in your self-pity and in your doubt and in your confusion and in your sadness and in your overwhelming circumstances and in your fear.

YOU were made for SO MUCH MORE than this!!!

Get up and eat!

May The Battle Make Us Better

Psst… you.  Yeah, you.

I know it’s hard.

And you’re just not sure you have it in you to push through one more day.

I’ve been there.

And the truth really is that we are ALL battling something.

For some of us it’s illness that just won’t let go.
For others it’s a doctor’s report that has you scared out of your mind.
For some it’s a marriage that’s barely hanging on by a thread.
For some it’s a wayward child or a job loss or the consequences of bad past decisions or a loss of a friendship or an overwhelming pile of debt.

And I know you feel alone… defeated… regretful… heartbroken… anxious.

But I wonder if we can begin to see the battle in a different way?  Together.

Because I know that where I am now is certainly not where I want to be… but narrowing that gap is up to me.

My disposition doesn’t have to be a reflection of my situation.

Because could it be that every arrow the enemy has designed to harm me with, could actually be for the sharpening of my spirit?

Because if the Lord is the strength of my life, and I insist on surrendering to pressure and all that is hard, aren’t I publicly advertising His unreliability?

Oh, friend, and I’m preaching to self.

Over and over again to self first.

But I wonder if this year we see the battle differently?

Because could it be that this thing… this battle… has been divinely purposed for my refinement?

After all… isn’t it He who is making all things work out for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose?

Ahh, yes.  I forgot!

And sometimes we do!

And maybe you need reminding today.

Let this battle serve as a reminder that He who began a good work in you will see it out to completion!  He has not left you.  He will not forsake you.  He will not leave you in your mess.

Look up today!

And be reminded that the battle is formed for the bettering of souls.

Enter this day with the spirit of a warrior that says, “I’ve got this!  No weapon formed against me will prosper!  The battle we’re facing is nothing compared to the promise of blessing that lies ahead!”

Rushing May Lead to Regret

It was a cold morning and the commute was partially obscured due to heavy snowfall, and delayed by the icy road conditions.

It was hard to see in front of me and yet there we were…all of us… on the road… determined to get to our destinations on time.

That’s when I saw it.  The salt truck.  He, too, on a mission.  To provide for the safety needs of those insistent upon travel.

And I wondered how long he had been out.  How many miles had he already traveled that morning… there, intentionally positioned on the shoulder of the road?  Providing for all of us weary travelers… a gift.  Salt.  For our safety.  For our benefit.  Braving the wild weather for our defense against the elements.

And yet it was interesting to watch the number of cars that passed that man… our temporary savior, there in his work truck.  Because from my perspective, safety was only granted to those who remained behind the truck.  For those who assumed a subordinate position and maintained a submissive post.  Because there’s just something inconsistent to requiring aid, and yet refusing assistance.

And I wonder if that’s sometimes how it looks to the true Grace-giver?

Because He provides all that we could possibly need in the moment.  He gives grace for this day.  He administers rescue for this hour.

And yet how many times have I too prematurely ran too far out ahead of God?

How often have I failed to trust His timing?
How often has my anxiousness robbed me of Divine assurance?
How many times has my assertiveness removed me from His intended assignment?

Oh we can’t rush Him, friends.
Because danger awaits for those who travel too quickly on unpredictable paths.

And I can’t afford to waste one moment outside of His protective seal.

Rushing may lead to regret.

Authenticity is Audacious

I had never seen her before.  And I am pretty much a regular in that store.

And on this particular day I was in a mad rush to get it all accomplished.

You know the days, right?  When your to-do list is overwhelming and the reality is that more resides on your list than hours in the day.

And sometimes you just “know” when a derailment is coming - and there’s not much you can do about it.

There I was in line feeling… stuck.  Someone in front of me, someone behind, items already emptied on the belt, and it was going painfully slow.

And it didn’t take me long to realize that the reason was the cashier.  A young girl… likely in her mid 20’s… cute, kind, friendly, but going too slow for my liking on this particular day.

But then I saw it. 

It was something different about her.

Maybe it was the way she looked at me with the intention to listen.  Rare these days indeed.
Because when she asked me, “How are you today?” I really felt, with deepest sincerity, like she really wanted to know.
How was that possible?  We’re usually too rushed, too self-absorbed to care, but too courteous not to ask.

Maybe it was the way she talked slow as if to give the greatest gift each one of own… time.  Because the rushing head-long into life is not an appropriate reaction when our desire is to savor every moment we’ve been given.  It was something about the calmness she possessed that captivated me and drew me in… in to her gentle world of peace.

And was so… her sweet authentic spirit… right up to our last interaction…. eyes laser focused on me as if, for the time, I was all that really mattered.

For some reason all I could think of when I left that day was authenticity is audacious. 

Audacious, according to the dictionary, means, “recklessly brave, extremely original, highly inventive, lively; unrestrained; uninhibited.”

And she was.

And I could be too.

Because it is the Jesus way.  It’s how He lived.  Recklessly, brave, original, inventive, unrestrained.

Because that girl made my day.  Her bravery to live with authenticity and intention was a game-changer for me.

The question now becomes… will I choose to be audaciously authentic?

The Lesson of Service

I was talking with a teenager the other day and we were discussing the art of sacrificial love.

She shared with me that one of her family members often gets upset when someone from the dinner tables offers to get her a refill on her water, or a second helping of food as a courtesy while they are up for themselves. She said the common response to this sort of action is, “She can get it for herself.”

And while I think there’s a lot of truth to the parenting heart behind this comment, I wonder how ineffective it really is.

Because while we’re teaching our kids to “fend for themselves”, we also might be disregarding the important lesson of “serving one another.”

Aren’t we to “take delight in honoring one another”? Romans 12:10
Aren’t we to “use our gifts to serve one another”? 1 Peter 4:10
Aren’t we supposed to reflect the one who “came not to be served, but to serve others”? Mt 20:28

I wonder.

And I am that parent who gives chores and expects independent behavior while preparing my child to leave the nest. I take seriously the gentle nudge toward releasing her into the wild, empowered and fully qualified to contribute greatly to society.
 
But…

Because the value of developing service-minded, others-focused world changers who learn to execute sacrificial love by way of serving selflessly, may just outrank our good intentions to teach independency, which improperly develops a self-centered mindset.

Oh yes… let’s teach them to have a voice. But to use it tenderheartedly to reach out and offer love and grace and acts of selfless service.

It matters.

On Second Thought

I was at the store attempting to exchange a Christmas item the other day.  It was a rather high-priced item and we simply wanted to return it in exchange for full store credit.

But we didn’t have the receipt on us at the time.

When we explained the situation to the clerk she checked her price scanner and told us that we could indeed have full store credit, and encouraged us to begin looking for our replacement items.  Even directing us to sale racks which offered an addition 30% off.

Pleasantly relieved by the store’s generosity and grace without having our receipt, and comforted by the fact that we wouldn’t have to make the trek back to this out-of-town store, we began looking around to see what we wanted.

It was then the store employee returned to us saying that on second thought she had made a mistake, and the shirt was not discounted by $40, and that because we had no receipt we would have to take the loss and now have a significantly lower amount to spend on replacement items.

We explained to her that we would need to obtain the receipt and get back to the store at a later time. 

Understandable.  But not what we were originally told.

And I thought about that when I read Psalm 119:60.  Here the Psalmist says, “I will hurry without delay, to obey Your commands.”

The teaching here is in regard to the action of conversion, and behaving with no delay in obedience.  He doesn’t seek to avoid the duty associated with a new life in Christ.  He doesn’t pause to pray about it, ponder over it, read books concerning it, or reflect too long about it.

Second thought mentality.

And “second thought” mentality is dangerous.  When we overthink a situation too long that God requires immediate obedience in, it can be debilitating and disruptive to our spiritual growth.

Because how many times have I said it, “On second thought I don’t want to do it.”  “On second thought I just don’t have the time.”  “On second thought I just don’t feel like it.”

And the reality is if we wait too long, obedience may never come.  In fact it will likely never come if we wait to for the “feeling” to do it.

Second thoughts make you question your beliefs.
Second thoughts keep you tied to the world instead of being devoted to God.
Second thoughts crucify Jesus, when first thoughts would have better crucified self.

Don’t spend too much time “second thinking”  your action steps in obedience to God.

Forgive… now.
Offer grace and mercy… now.
Apologize… now.
Give generously… now.
Be kind… now.

It all matters.

May I Fail To See

I’m not sure I’d thought about it before yesterday.

And I know I’ve never prayed it quite like this before.

“Lord, might I fail to see.”

But sometimes a passage of scripture will cause me to stare long and meditate deep.

And this one did.

Micah 7:18… He, “pardons the guilt of the remnant, overlooking the sins of His special people.”

And I look up the word pardon in the dictionary. 

Not because I don't know what it means… but because I have to see more clearly the way He communicates to this weary soul.  Always the hunter for deeper meaning.

And I pull our the verbs… the action words…

Pardon.  According to Webster’s Dictionary, it means this… “to release from liability for an offense; to cancel a debt.

Overlook.  To fail to notice; to excuse.

Wait a minute.

“Fail to notice.”

He fails to notice my sin?

Yep.

He chooses to look the other way because the Word tells us that He, “delights in showing unfailing love.”

And if I am made in His image… an image-bearer… then shouldn’t I, too, be failing to notice?  Failing to take notice of the faults and failures of other people?  Failing to take notice of the offenses against me by those who oppose me?  Failing to see the corruptness inflicted by hearts infected by hate?

Yes.

I could choose to live with this kind of grace.  This kind of unmerited forgiveness.

By failing to notice, I could be more like Christ.

He pardons and He overlooks.
And I can too.

And a new prayer will be just that: May I fail to see!

Contradictions

Sometimes people are confusing.

And I don’t think it’s intentional, really. 

But what’s in the heart will eventually be revealed.  “But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.”  (Mt 15:18)

And we see it all the time. 
Contradictions.

We say we believe in God’s plan and His time, and then worry ourselves into sickness regarding things that are completely out of our physical control.
We speak of the inconveniences of life, all the while verbalizing to the hurting around us, “If you need anything let me know.”
We proudly position ourselves under His umbrella of grace for all of our failures, all the while refusing to let go of the minor offenses inflicted on us by other people.
We involve ourselves in ugly conversations, at the same time we sit in fear of what others think about us or are saying behind our backs.
We complain about our jobs and our responsibilities, all the while posting publicly how “blessed” we are for the things we have.

I know.

And I have done the same things too.

And I had wrote it down months ago… “Can we just stop being walking contradictions?”

Contradiction means opposition, assertion of the contrary, denial, direct opposition between things compared, inconsistency.

Wait. 

There is is. 

Two words that stuck out to me in all of that… denial and inconsistency.

Could it be that we are denying God with our very mouths when we become entangled with contradictions?  Could it be that an unbelieving world turns away from the God we claim to serve because they’ve seen too many inconsistencies in our lives - thus reflecting the inconsistency and unreliability of our God?

Accurately representing Christ demands consistency of character.  An unwavering demonstration of the goodness of God and the reliability of His unmerited grace.

Because if they don't see it in us, where will they see it?  And when will they meet a God who’s desire is to use us as a vessel to bring hope to the world?

Contradictions don’t compliment… they create confusion.

Come on 2018!

This year.. may we be brave enough to look at our brokenness in a new way.

Instead of victim mentality, may we rise above with a victorious mindset.

May we glance back only long enough to learn from the mistakes we’ve made and insist upon a better way of living. May we use the wreckage from our past to catapult us into a stronger person in 2018!

May the pain we’ve experienced only prove to push us into the greatness God has for us!

The choice is ours.


The outcome is up to us.

Take what you’ve been given and make it beautiful!

And I'd heard her say it... like I'd been reciting it for years. "I'm waiting for that lightening bolt to come."

Yeah, the one that rarely does.

And the hearing from Him can be so hard. There's really no other way to say it than that: hard.

Because we wait for the sign. We listen for the voice and in the waiting we worry that perhaps we'll never receive the answer we long for. And not just my answer... because at a certain point in time you'll take ANY answer.

And it doesn't seem to come.

Until.

Until that one brisk morning in the middle of a work week.

You hear it through the voices of others. Confirmation that what you've been trusting in, believing for, just could be here. The answer! And I remind her - it's how He speaks.

We want giant billboards, but He gives a gentle buzz.

We want quick disclosure, but He gives quiet directives.

And I remind her that He often speaks to us in whispers.

Elijah knew it best.... "And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was a sound of a gentle whisper." {1 Kings 19:12}

A flashback to an event where a woman was whispering to get the groups attention as she stood before them on the stage. Somehow by whispering she commanded the attention of the audience. With all eyes on her, the room silenced in a matter of mere seconds.

And I wonder... is our Lord like that? Because there's something in a whisper that commands attention. It causes us to lean in close to get a better listen. The bending in to be included. And it's how He works. Because after all, it's your heart He's after. And a whisper draws you nearer to the Savior who's provision has never ceased.

Lean in today.

That's it.

A little closer.

He's calling to you, but He's whispering His will.

You've gotta want to hear Him.